Developing this eco-tycoon game has been one of the most demanding and rewarding projects I’ve worked on as a student. When I first started, I only had a rough idea of what I wanted: a simulation where players manage a city with a strong focus on sustainability. 

I didn’t realize how many interconnected systems I would need to design. Energy, waste, water use, citizen satisfaction, random events, pollution levels, each mechanic depended on another, which meant every new feature had the potential to break three others.

The energy system was the first major challenge. I wanted solar, wind, geothermal, and fossil options, each with different costs, outputs, and consequences. Getting them to balance properly took weeks. At one point, wind power was so strong that players could cover the map with turbines and never worry about anything again. At another point, solar plants barely produced enough to power a single small building. Tuning those numbers became a daily routine.

The population system came next. I wanted the citizens to feel like more than statistics, so I created different groups with different priorities: eco-conscious residents, industrial workers, families, students. Each group responds differently to pollution, taxes, jobs, and available green spaces. This led to some interesting moments in testing, like when the entire city became unhappy because I accidentally coded an event that reduced air quality by 200% instead of 20%.

Events were another layer that complicated everything. Heatwaves, droughts, environmental grants, protests, technology breakthroughs, each event needed meaningful effects without completely ruining the player’s progress. Balancing difficulty was tricky. Too many disasters made the game frustrating; too many rewards made it boring.

Despite all the issues, bugs, and late-night debugging sessions, the project became something I’m genuinely proud of. Watching the systems interact for the first time, seeing energy production rise, pollution fall, and citizens respond, felt like all the effort finally came together. The game isn’t perfect, but it reflects real sustainability challenges.